[All the speeches in both Houses of Parliament on each of these petitions, were printed in the Universal Magazine for the months of April and May, 1749.]
He spoke on other occasions, to have indicated which would have required more research than I could spare.
V.
PRISON-VISITING COMMITTEE.
This committee consisted of the following gentlemen:
James Oglethorpe, Esquire, Chairman,
The Right Honorable the Lord Finch,
The Right Honorable Lord Percival,
Sir Robert Sutton, Knight of the Bath,
Sir Robert Clifton, Knight of the Bath,
Sir Abraham Elton, Baronet,
Sir Gregory Page, Baronet,
Sir Edmund Knatchbull, Baronet,
Vultus Cornwall, Esquire,
General Wade,
Humphry Parsons, Esquire,
Captain Vernon,
Robert Byng, Esquire,
Judge Advocate Hughes.
On Thursday, the 27th of February, they went to the Fleet prison to examine into the state of that gaol, in order for the relief of the insolvent debtors, &c., when the irons were ordered to be taken off Sir William Rich, Baronet. The next day, the same committee went a second time to the Fleet prison, where, upon complaint made to them that Sir William Rich was again put in irons, they made report thereof to the House of Commons, who thereupon ordered Mr. Bambridge, the warden of the Fleet, to be taken into the custody of their sergeant at arms.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE
"On Thursday, the 20th of March, Mr. Oglethorpe from the committee appointed to inquire into the state of the gaols of this kingdom, made a REPORT of some progress they had made, with the RESOLUTIONS of the committee thereupon, and he read the Report in his place, and afterwards delivered the same (with two appendixes) in at the table, where the Report was read, and the resolutions of the committee being severally read a second time, were agreed to by the House, in substance as follows, viz.:
"Resolved, nemine contradicente, that Thomas Bambridge, the acting Warden of the prison at the Fleet, hath wilfully permitted several debtors to the crown in great sums of money, as well as debtors to divers of his Majesty's subjects to escape; hath been guilty of the most notorious breaches of his trust; great extortions, and the highest crimes and misdemeanors in the execution of his said office; and hath arbitrarily and unlawfully loaded with irons, put into dungeons, and destroyed prisoners for debt under his charge, treating them in the most barbarous and cruel manner, in high violation and contempt of the laws of this kingdom: